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Knives, Saws, Sharpeners, Reviews and MoreWed, 23 May 2018 10:04:21 +0000en-GBhourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.6105891759How To Use A Machete – The Right Wayhttps://www.sharpen-up.com/use-machete-right-way/
Sun, 21 Jan 2018 00:39:55 +0000https://www.sharpen-up.com/?p=2699A quick disclaimer before we start. This short tutorial is guidance on using a machete for clearing brush the right way, not how to swing a machete like a knife wielding maniac in the street. There’s no room for that kind of behaviour here at

A quick disclaimer before we start. This short tutorial is guidance on using a machete for clearing brush the right way, not how to swing a machete like a knife wielding maniac in the street. There’s no room for that kind of behaviour here at Sharpen-up.

So, you have you razor sharp machete and you are ready to clear some major undergrowth at the back of the garden or on the ranch. If you start hacking away, the wrong way, you will tire very quickly and for all intent and purposes, work a lot slower.

The following steps will help ensure that you start using your machete like a boss. (If you’re thinking about buying a new machete, head to our top 5 review roundup, to discover the best ones currently available).

Step 1 – Check The Area

Before you start you need to make sure that the area within range of your swing is clear and that nobody, or nothing, is standing behind you.

You should also continue to check as you work. If possible, you should ensure that no children or pets could possible appear while you have the machete in hand.

How to grip a machete the right way (Image: Fiskars.com)

Step 2 – The Grip, holding the machete the right way

Finding the correct grip is fundamental for an efficient machete swing. If the grip is wrong, the swing will also be wrong.

Furthermore, hold the tool wrong and you will likely end up getting blisters. You will certainly wear out faster, and from a safety standpoint, a wrong grip could cause you to end up loosing a toe. (You only need imagine what can happen if a machete was to fly from your hand mid swing!).

With the Machete in hand, you start by wrapping your thumb and forefinger around opposite sides of the handle and pinching them together tightly.

Your other three fingers only need to be wrapped loosely around the base of the handle.

It may seem counter-intuitive, however the handle should actually have a little play within your palm, and be able to wiggle around slightly. A common beginner’s mistake is to grip the handle so tight that you leave a palm print. There is no need for that.

The following video will help explain the correct machete grip in greater detail:

Step 4 – How to Swing the Machete

Now we get to the swinging like a boss part. For actions such as chopping or hacking, you should use the broad, heavy, sweet spot of the machete. This will help generate momentum, with the direct force being applied against the object you are trying to chop.

This is why the machete is so effective. it does not require the strength of the user’s wrist shoulders. A proper machete swing only requires the momentum of your core. So, how does one achieve this?

(Photo credit: Matt Tansey: When Coffee Speaks) The force for the swing comes from your core, not your arm.

First, when you swing the machete, start higher and direct your whole arm in a downward direction to increase momentum. You will also have the weight of the machete and gravity on your side.

You should also bring your shoulder down as you swing. This ensures that the momentum of your core is actually the main power supply, generating the thrust that flows through your arm and into the tool.

It is important to allow your elbow to lead the direction of the swing.

Upon contact with the material you are cutting, try to flick your wrist slightly. Woody vegetation requires a downward flick, while grass and leafy growth should be met with an upwards flick.

Here is another video that will greatly aid you in perfecting the correct swing when using a machete.

Step 5 – The Angle of Contact

With the grip and the swing in place, the last thing you need to nail is the angle of the blade as you hit the material being cut.

Again this will impact the efficiency of your work, and quickly you get tired. The fact is, you get it wrong not only will you take longer, you will end up repeatedly prying your machete from the material after getting it stuck, and you will look a little silly to boot.

Here’s what you need to do, to avoid all that:

Do not use a perpendicular approach. Instead, make contact at around a 45-degree angle.

As we stated in the swing section, when slashing through soft vegetation use swift strokes with an upward flick of the wrist as you make contact. For thicker foliage or wood, slash downward.

When cutting thick branches or small trees, cut a V-shaped notch in the offending material and then alternate between upward and downward strokes. This will chop slivers off each side of the wood until you have made your way through the entire trunk.

Important safety note to remember

If at any point you feel tired you should rest before continuing. Working while fatigued is a short route to injury. Only swap hands if you are lucky enough to be safely ambidextrous with the tool. Otherwise, stop, take a drink and have a sit down. The brush will still be there to chop once you are ready.

Another point to remember is that your machete should be sharp. If you working with a blunt instrument you will need to exert more force into the swing to make the cut – and this can lead to accidents.

]]>2699The role of ‘The Carver’ in the Renaissance Courthttps://www.sharpen-up.com/the-role-of-the-carver-in-the-renaissance-court/
Sat, 29 Apr 2017 11:48:28 +0000https://www.sharpen-up.com/?p=1181The talented carver (trinciante) had a special role in the Renaissance court. He alone would be expected to cut the bread, fruit, meat and fish in full view of the banqueting guests. The actual carving of the meat was a demanding performance that was meant

]]>The talented carver (trinciante) had a special role in the Renaissance court. He alone would be expected to cut the bread, fruit, meat and fish in full view of the banqueting guests.

The actual carving of the meat was a demanding performance that was meant to both entertain and serve the diners.

One of the most distinguished trinciantes of the time was Vincenzo Cervio. As the Carver in the court of cardinal Alessandro Farnese, Cervio literally wrote the book on the art form with a published treatise in 1581.

Image Credit: Tavoleadarte.it

During his services to the Cardinal, Cervio perfected the art of lifting the roasted foul so that it could be carved in mid-air. He would lift a whole turkey in the air using a fork and rapidly carve the meat so that the shavings would rain onto the diner’s plate in decorative pattern of slices.

The performance was designed to be theatrical, the carving carried out by the right hand in a swift manner ‘according to precise anatomical rules.’ At no point must the food come into contact with the carver’s hand.

Not just meat, but fruits too would be served in this way. Even eggs would be raised in the air and sliced to pieces, the morsels falling onto the plates in front of the guests. (Could you imagine if a hunter ever demonstrated similar skills using a gut hook knife, now that would be a spectacle).

This was all part of the festival of dining for nobles of Renaissance Italy. Everything was conceived to overwhelm the senses in an ongoing show of colors, punctuated by live performances and musical intermezzi.

Image Credit: Gastrolabio.it

Further Reading: If you want to carve up a turkey the way its supposed to be done in the 21st Century, head to our top 5 best electric carving knife review article. You may not be able to slice the bird in midair, but you will be able to serve up some even pieced, succulent slices come Thanksgiving.

]]>118122 Beautiful Custom Pocket Knives (Guaranteed To Give You Knife Envy)https://www.sharpen-up.com/22-beautiful-custom-pocket-knives-give-knife-envy/
Sun, 12 Feb 2017 10:51:47 +0000https://www.sharpen-up.com/?p=1747Here we have a collection of 22 beautiful custom pocket knives. The care that has gone into handcrafting these tools is evident in every single image. The creation of a custom knife provides the knife-smith unparalleled opportunity to work with a variety of materials; from

]]>Here we have a collection of 22 beautiful custom pocket knives. The care that has gone into handcrafting these tools is evident in every single image. The creation of a custom knife provides the knife-smith unparalleled opportunity to work with a variety of materials; from leather, steel, bone and wood. Many have been finished with artistic engravings that set the knives apart. They are quite simply stunning.

21. A Little Art Nouveau

]]>1747Missing Knife From O.J Simpson Trial Found After 22 Years (Maybe!)https://www.sharpen-up.com/missing-knife-o-j-simpson-trial-may-found-22-years-later/
https://www.sharpen-up.com/missing-knife-o-j-simpson-trial-may-found-22-years-later/#respondMon, 21 Mar 2016 13:20:57 +0000https://www.sharpen-up.com/?p=1612How’s this for a turn up. The missing knife (and murder weapon) used in the killing of O.J. Simpson’s wife 22 years ago may have been found. The knife, originally discovered by a construction worker was given to a retired police officer four years after the

How’s this for a turn up. The missing knife (and murder weapon) used in the killing of O.J. Simpson’s wife 22 years ago may have been found.

The knife, originally discovered by a construction worker was given to a retired police officer four years after the crime was committed.

NBC News has reported that retired LAPD officer George Maycott was working close to O.J. Simpson’s former estate in 2001 or 2002. It was there that an unnamed construction worker handed him the knife, claiming he had found it on the property.

Maycott contacted the police about the knife, however he was told that because Simpson had already been acquitted, nothing could be done. The former American Football hero cannot be retried for the crime.

For the intervening 18 years, Maycott kept the knife in a bag in his garage. However, renewed interest in the case from the recent television documentary: American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson, may have prompted 70-year-old Maycott’s surrender of the knife to police.

Los Angeles police revealed on Friday, March 4, 2016, that DNA testing for linkage to the Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman homicide case is underway.

Maycott’s attorney, Trent Copeland, said no apparent blood, “only dirt and mud,” was detected on the knife.

NBC News described what was found as a “relatively inexpensive, small knife typically carried and used by construction workers, gardeners, landscapers or other laborers.”

The murder weapon’s characteristics are reportedly not consistent with the item discovered, however, investigators assert that forensics tests are being done “just in case.”

]]>https://www.sharpen-up.com/missing-knife-o-j-simpson-trial-may-found-22-years-later/feed/01612A Short History Of The World Famous Swiss Army Knifehttps://www.sharpen-up.com/short-history-world-famous-swiss-army-knife/
https://www.sharpen-up.com/short-history-world-famous-swiss-army-knife/#respondSun, 22 Nov 2015 10:53:56 +0000https://www.sharpen-up.com/?p=1580The Swiss Army Knife is recognized the world over. The bright red handle with a small white cross, concealing multiple blades and fold-out tools has been the go to pocket knife for boy scouts, army regiments and of course the everyman too, for over a

The Swiss Army Knife is recognized the world over. The bright red handle with a small white cross, concealing multiple blades and fold-out tools has been the go to pocket knife for boy scouts, army regiments and of course the everyman too, for over a century.

Invented in the 1880s, the official ‘Swiss Army Knife’ is still made exclusively in only two factories in Switzerland. More than 15 million knives leave their warehouses each year.

It all started in Ibach, in 1884. A young Karl Elsener and his mother, Victoria, opened a cutlery cooperative. This small enterprise would produce the first knives sold to the Swiss Army, with the original model being called the “Offiziersmesser”, or Soldier Knife.

(Interestingly, the term “Swiss Army Knife” was coined by US Servicemen in World War II, which proved to be a lot more marketable than the plain old ‘Soldier Knife’).

It immediately proved popular with soldiers, however that first incarnation did receive complaints. So Elsener went back to his shop and made it even better, by adding a corkscrew of all things.

Overall, those early knives contained much of what we still love about the Swiss Army Knife today: a versatile pocket blade, a reamer, a can opener, and a screwdriver. All of which was folded neatly away inside an oak handle.

An early swiss soldier knife – many of the design features remain in pocket knives today

The other half of the Swiss Army coin originates from around the same time. The Delemont company was founded as a cutler in the 19th century and was later bought and modernized by businessman Theodore Wenger, to become Wenger, S.A.

The Swiss army later split its contract for the knives between Victorinox and Wenger in 1909. The Swiss Army knife trademark was then shared between both companies.

However, although Wenger and Victorinox are distinct company entities, both are actually now owned by the Elsener family.

Recent troubles in the industry – particularly the post-9/11 airport climate, which made it difficult to take small knives onto planes – saw Victorinox buy out its main competitor in 2005.

The Victorinox HQ in Switzerland

Victorinox, did not escape the aftermath of 9/11 unscathed however. The Swiss Army knife was shorthand for the Swiss culture from where it stemmed. The company had a sizable presence in the travel and luggage industries, and was a constant seller at duty-free stores prior to the attacks. With the Swiss Army Knife easy to use a concealed weapon, the post attack climate was very difficult for the company.

“Our company has never been as hard-hit as it was by the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks in New York and Washington,” CEO Carl Elsener Jr. noted in a 2013 press release. “We lost over 40 percent of our business. Airports sent vast quantities of the knife back to us.”

However, the company saw the downturn through, with the descendants of Karl Elsener (his great-grandchildren to be precise) overseeing the production and managing of both Victorinox and Wenger – two companies that continue to employ thousands of Swiss workers.

On the subject of employment, Victorinox have a rather unique claim. The company has never had to lay off an employee. To avoid this they set aside profits during boom periods to supplement recessionary periods, as well as temporarily contracting employees to other companies as outsourced labour during recessions.

A wonderful achievement that sheds light on the attitude of the company towards its employees. In 2009, Victorinox boasted over 100 employees who had remained with the company for over 40 years.